The Court of Appeal has backed a sheep farmer’s claim for ownership of a disputed grazing area in Caernarfon, Gwynedd.
The court heard that John Williams took over tenancy of the Mwd following his father’s death in 1971. Williams stopped paying rent in 1972 after he entered into an agreement with the owners to provide various caretaking services. Subsequent owners of the land failed to contact him until 1991 when the present owners acquired title to part of the land.
The county court found that Mr Williams’ continued occupation of the land for 12 years amounted to adverse possession, and that, in the circumstances, he had established possessory title to it.
In the Court of Appeal, Arnold Cooper, counsel for the second defendant Capital Landfill (Restoration) Bath Ltd, argued that the county court judge had been wrong to find that Mr Williams had enjoyed uninterrupted possession of the disputed land since 1971, and maintained that he had made findings of fact that were inconsistent with the evidence.
Dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal held that the trial judge had been right in finding that Mr Williams had remained in continuous possession of the property since 1971, and that the defendants rights to the land had been extinguished.
Williams v Jones and another Court of Appeal (Schiemann, Buxton and Carnwath LJJ) 10 July 2002.
Adrian Cooper (instructed by Thomas Graham, of Cardiff) appeared for the appellant; Bridget Williamson (instructed by Breese Gwyndaf, of Porthmadog) appeared for the respondent.
PLS News 11/07/02
